World Baseball Classic: Australia and Chinese Taipei ready to start with a bang

[p]The WBC opening game will take place on March 4th at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time (New York), or March 5th, depending on other time zones. [/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/news/everything-you-need-to-know-ahead-of-the-2026-world-baseball-classic/K26xcNEs/"]Check out the full schedule and Pool matchups here.[/a][/b][/p][h2][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/australia/h2RcNuiG/"]Australia[/a][/h2][p]Australia are in the same Pool C group as during the 2023 WBC, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/japan/vuZGJUZ0/"]Japan[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/south-korea/2XIeMWkr/"]South Korea[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/chinese-taipei/WpW7PCsR/"]Chinese Taipei[/a] (Taiwan), and the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/czech-republic/6JB1nrVs/"]Czech Republic[/a]. It will be the second time the two countries have faced each other in the WBC, with Chinese Taipei winning 4-1 in the opening round in 2013.[/p][p]Prior to 2023, in which Australia advanced to the quarter-finals for the first time after beating everyone in their pool but Japan, Australia had a brutal 2-10 record since the tournament first began in 2006. [/p][p]When they faced [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/china/hfX3QhSK/"]China[/a] in 2023 (a different team from Chinese Taipei), Australia slaughtered them 12-2, enforcing the tournament's mercy rule, ending the game after the seventh inning. Australia had at least eight batters record at least one hit, with four of them hitting two. [/p][p]Pitchers [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/wynne-coen/jJIfkl33/"]Coen Wynne[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/van-steensel-todd/r1tmzCOD/"]Todd Van Steensel[/a], and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/glogoski-kyle/MVWdjzm4/"]Kyle Glogoski[/a] tossed 6.1 combined innings, giving up just one hit and no runs with seven strikeouts. In total, those three threw 8.1 innings during the 2023 WBC without allowing a single run.[/p][embed guid="5d2f7a26-79ca-4f9b-b7ab-d2601b28046f" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h81uSIri_WE" social-type="youtube" /][p]Both Wynne and Steensel are part of the eight of 15 pitchers from 2023 returning this year. Catchers [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hall-alex/j9TXimO8/"]Alex Hall[/a], who is hitting .329 over in Australia this season, and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/perkins-robert/nsZhMhfE/"]Robbie Perkins[/a] will also be in the lineup again.  [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/wingrove-rixon/A5lsoIwS/"]Rixon Wingrove[/a], who hit a two-run home run in the 2023 quarter-final against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/cuba/2JHw5Xzk/"]Cuba[/a], will be one of the four returning infielders out of seven. [/p][p]Meanwhile, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bojarski-ulrich/EuIve7Hi/"]Ulrich Bojarski[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kennelly-timothy/bXWuOW9e/"]Tim Kennelly[/a], and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/whitefield-aaron/zXKIro1Q/"]Aaron Whitefield[/a] will be returning to the outfield. [/p][p]However, Australia now has the number one pick from the 2024 MLB Draft and MLB's number 10 prospect on their squad this year in [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bazzana-travis/hdbKIfID/"]Travis Bazzana[/a], who made his way up from Rookie Ball to Triple-A (one level below MLB) last season in the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/cleveland-guardians/4K05MrFG/"]Cleveland Guardians[/a]' minor league system. He finished 2025 in the minors, hitting .245 with a .813 OPS, nine home runs, 39 RBI, and 12 stolen bases.[/p][p]The team will look to one of the MLB's best prospects for help in the WBC opener.[/p][embed guid="9a69a3c6-6ad0-4293-9708-4fc9fd9de0a3" url="https://x.com/MLB/status/1894527211849302251?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][h2][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/chinese-taipei/WpW7PCsR/"]Chinese Taipei[/a][/h2][p]Not to be confused with China, who are a separate team, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) posts a 6-22 all-time WBC record. They've failed to advance past the Pool stage in four of the five tournaments they've been in, but still have the edge on Australia in terms of their lone win over a decade ago in 2013.[/p][p]They advanced to the second round that year, but eventually went 0-2 in that stage and were knocked out of the competition. However, they have been given better odds (+20000) to win the WBC outright than Australia (+25000) this year. [/p][p]Chinese Taipei is led by the former Pool A MVP [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/chang-yu-cheng/OSurCM00/"]Yu Chang[/a], who will be making his return after a dominating performance during the 2023 WBC in which he batted a whopping .438 (7-for-16) with three singles, two doubles, two home runs, and eight RBI in four games.[/p][p]Chang also hit .389 with four doubles and a home run during the WBC qualifiers last year.[/p][embed guid="c6f76439-c46b-4b42-bb3f-e1cf6bb2f130" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVT2YuBCAbo" social-type="youtube" /][p]Another notable name for Chinese Taipei in the infield, along with Chang, is [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lee-hao/GrgzR6YD/"]Hao-Yu Lee[/a] - a 23-year-old prospect currently in the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/detroit-tigers/0QIlt8pi/"]Detroit Tigers[/a]' minor league system. In 2024, Lee was selected to the Futures Games and earned an All-Star selection during his time with the Tigers' Double-A affiliate, the Erie SeaWolves. [/p][p]He hit .298 that season and put up 12 home runs, 56 RBI, and 16 stolen bases in 87 games. This past season, Lee spent his time at the next level in Triple-A, where he hit .243 with 14 home runs, 61 RBI, and 23 stolen bases. [/p][p]The two pitchers to watch out for are pitchers [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lin-wei-en/j3SVVJVb/"]Wei-En Lin[/a], who is a prospect for the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/athletics/xIYDcQid/"]Athletics[/a], and 24-year-old Jo-Hsi Hsu. [/p][p]Lin pitched in two games during the qualifiers, giving up just one hit with four strikeouts in 1.1 innings. He spent all of 2025 in the Athletics' minor league system, first spending 13 games (10 starts) in Single-A, where he threw 69 strikeouts in 50 innings with a 3.96 ERA.[/p][p]Then he pitched in 11 games (one start) in High Single-A, where he threw 40 strikeouts in 30.1 innings with a 3.26 ERA, before moving up to Double-A for two starts, in which he gave up three runs on four hits in 6.2 innings with eight strikeouts and four walks. [/p][embed guid="a31df450-c7d2-4dd0-833b-e26f35e25338" url="https://x.com/LansingLugnuts/status/1943455416463266119?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]As for Hsu, he also pitched in two games during the WBC qualifiers, giving up one run on three hits with five strikeouts and two walks in 3.2 innings.[/p][p]He's been a dominant force in the CPBL (China League) the past two seasons. Last year in the CPBL, Hsu racked up 120 strikeouts in 114 innings (both career-highs) while only giving up 78 hits and a jaw-dropping 14 walks, finishing the season with a 2.07 ERA, earning him his second CPBL All-Star selection in both seasons (2024-2025), he was a starting pitcher. [/p][p]Making them not only a threat to Australia in this game, but even the reigning champion [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/japan/vuZGJUZ0/"]Team Japan[/a] as well. [/p][embed guid="e83c51e5-37f8-4425-a0c7-23d893395f83" url="https://x.com/WBCBaseball/status/1894368158217019550?s=20" social-type="twitter" /]